The Desolate City
by KT-FeatherSage
Summary: Within the region of the CatWings in Pereshalia lies a ruined city hiding a great treasure that not even the CatWings themselves can find, the keys to all-tribe domination and destruction. But when Malicia is sent for her time on guard at the City, she may just unearth the vital treasure -and an extremely dark secret along with it...


**A Newcomer's Guide to the Tribes of Pereshalia**

SaltWings

Description: silver or light grey scales for blending into the saltbanks, dark grey eyes, larger feet and retractable scales that block their nostrils

Abilities: able to slide forward scales that block their breathing so they can dive underwater to reach their homes, have thick pads on their feet that prevent scrapes from rocks, large feet to grip and tug off the rocks of salt to throw at enemies, can blend into salt banks.

Queen: Queen Sedge

Alliances: currently in a truce with the SilverWings

CatWings

Description: small and sleek black scales, often smaller than the other tribes but with long legs and thin, light bodies with thin, whippy tails, glowing eyes, cat-like ears and narrow wings

Abilities: can move and fly soundlessly, swift, camouflage into shadows, see in the dark, are incredible at leaping

Queen: Queen Fortune

Alliances: currently holding a truce with the ScatterWings

SilverWings

Description: largest of the tribes with pointed silver scales that can stick up when threatened, large curved silver talons and large silver wings

Abilities: can spike enemies that come close with their scales, only tribe known with a main ability of breathing fire and a powerful thick tail

Queen: Queen Raindrop

Alliances: currently in a truce with the SaltWings

ScatterWings

Description: blue scales with purple or darker stripes, often yellow eyes, straight talons with hooked edges for gripping the ground and feathered wings

Abilities: can walk on ceilings and upside-down, can fire sharp pointed scales off their body to attack, and have a screaming cry that drives non-ScatterWing dragons mad

Queen: Queen Holly

Alliances: currently in a truce with the CatWings

DewWings

Description: silver or green scales, blue eyes, round-edged talons and the largest wings of all the Tribes

Abilities: able to make the water and vapour around them turn into water and brings it close to them before firing it at the enemy, talons are unable to cut but are heavy

Queen: Queen Violet

Alliances: Supposedly no allies or truces

* * *

Rain was hammering down. It was night, and the sky was jet black. Dark grey clouds hid the moon and the stars from sight, yet long shadows were still cast from the broken buildings that stood tall and short in the area. A once-smooth stone covered the floor, now worn and torn, with jagged edges. The buildings were even worse, burnt and derelict with smashed windows and shattered glass strewn over rotting floors.

A light silver-grey dragon wove through the alleys and gaps between these buildings, keeping to the shadows. His dark grey eyes flicked about uneasily, and he was aware of how much his brighter scales stood out. He would have rather been in the underwater caves sleeping the night away with his friends close by and the salt crystals glowing. He rounded another corner and emerged out onto a longer street, bathed completely in black, eerie shadow. Muttering quietly, he kept as low as possible and continued forwards.

Suddenly he looked up and froze in his tracks. At the end of the street, two small, narrow amber orbs were glowing. His heartbeat picked up as he stood still, hoping the supposed dragon hadn't seen him. The eyes vanished suddenly, and he was alone again, fear creeping up his spine and only the sound of his thudding heart for comfort. He looked behind him, but there was nothing there. Then he turned back around and they were directly in front of him.

He gave a yelp and fell backwards. The dragon was smaller than him, but jet black and lithe. He identified them immediately as a CatWing, and tried to scramble to his feet, but the dragon was on top of him, pinning him down. The amber eyes seemed so familiar…

Then it clicked.

"Well well well, look who it is." she said, voice eerily hissy, "Spade! It's been so long! Did you come to visit me? How nice…"

She drew close to his face. "But I'm afraid you aren't allowed to be here."

He tried to lash out, but her talons were hooked around his arm, preventing him from escaping.

"Shallow!" he gasped, "Let me go!"

"Only if you tell me why you're here." she hissed.

Spade struggled to get out of her grip. He knew if he was caught it would lead to this question, but why did it have to be with _her_.

"Come on...I know you've got to get ba~ack." she said in her singsong tone.

But he continued to struggle and continued to fail until she laughed.

"If you're not going to tell me, then let me guess. You and your SaltWing Queen both know that one Key for every tribe lies in here somewhere, and now you want to find it, to take it, to unlock your secret cave and use whatever lies in there to destroy us all."

The SaltWing's struggle weakened for a heartbeat. _How could she know?_

Shallow laughed. "It's been your tribe's goal for too long, SaltWing! At least the other tribes' plans take more intelligence than yours."

"Let me go and I'll leave immediately!"

Shallow ignored him. "No one's found them yet. Not us, not you, not any of the other tribes. We don't know where they're hidden._ No one does!_ All us CatWings know, is that if we can keep you out…"

One of her talons moved to his neck.

"...we can keep the Keys."

Before Spade could blink, they were both in the air, and Shallow had her claw-like talons hooked in his back. He let out a howl and tried to lash at her with his talons, but she was far out of his reach. He tried to flap his wings to hit her and escape, but she merely moved her back legs from his back and into his sides through his wings. He let out a roar of pain and anger and tried to lash out again, but it was no use. He was defeated. He couldn't fly.

Shallow kept flying upwards until she had reached the clouds. The abandoned city had shrunk in their perspectives from so high up.

"Look at it all." Shallow growled to him, "Look at it! This is the city we have all seen, all wandered around, all infiltrated and searched it, yet no one, _no one_, can find the Keys!"

Spade could do nothing but nod along.

"Now, I don't want to start a war, but you keep pushing for one. I think it's best if we just call this...an accident…"

Now he was falling. He could do nothing but look up at Shallow in defeat as he fell, death coming ever closer. He glanced around the growing city, the city that was so important to the lives of the tribes, but as he came closer to the ground he thought he saw something sparkling near the center. Oh well. It was too late now.

He hit the ground, but he felt nothing.


End file.
